Francis becomes first Latin American pope

Jorge Bergoglio, former archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elected pope on Wednesday. Bergoglio chose the name Francis for his papacy. He is the first pope from Latin America, the first non-European pope of the modern era and the first Pope Francis.

Comment

LA Junta Tribune - La Junta, CO

Writer

Posted Mar. 14, 2013 at 3:00 PM

Posted Mar. 14, 2013 at 3:00 PM

Jorge Bergoglio, former archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elected pope on Wednesday. Bergoglio chose the name Francis for his papacy. He is the first pope from Latin America, the first non-European pope of the modern era and the first Pope Francis. The papal Twitter account is active again, and the message "Habemus Papam Franciscum," translating to "We have Pope Francis," was tweeted shortly after Francis addressed the crowd. In his first address, he asked the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square and watching the broadcast to pray for the emeritus pope.

Geography of the papal conclave

Percentage of the world's Catholics and percentage of cardinal electors in a region, according to Pew Research: